If the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Prospective Plantings report holds true, producers are on track to plant 92 million acres of corn, over 87 million acres of soybeans and almost 50 million acres of wheat this year. But like most years, Mother Nature interferes and a portion of those acres never get planted.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack didn’t have to accept President Joe Biden’s invitations to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture once again, after serving in that same position under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. But given the pandemic, the supply chain disruptions, and a host of other challenges facing everyone in food and agriculture, it seems reassuring to have a steady hand at the helm of an agency that all of us who eat depend upon.
